Greetings and salutations Shanghai! Hopefully everyone is taking care of business before next week’s big October holiday. I caught a few gigs over the weekend but last night I missed Spencer Krug of Wolf Parade playing the debut Contemporale show at the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra Hall due to my own stupidity. Since I learned everything NOT TO DO when trying to attend a show at the new venue I’ll go ahead and give you some tips on how to avoid my fate. First off, don’t wait until the night before to purchase tickets online because that system is closed. Alright that’s probably a no brainer. Second, they do sell tickets at the door but it’s all computerized assigned seating, so show up earlier than an hour before the performance because when those seats are gone, they are gone. Third, don’t scream “Do You Know Who I Am!?” at the top of your lungs to the counter ticket lady working, she does not know who you are. Finally, if you attempt to buy from a scalper outside (there were plenty) make sure it’s the correct ticket because last night had two performances at same time and at least a few of us fresh off the boaters got scalped on the wrong show. Let’s just say they do not give refunds. Alright let me rephrase that one, just don’t buy from scalpers outside. Ok that should cover it. They also have pretty tight security with metal detectors and bag scanners so no sneaking in Asahi tall boy cans either kids, keep it classy. Moving on, today we share music from Italian disco-edits duo Tiger & Woods along with Nashville left-field live techno artist Container along with Morphine label mates Charles Cohen and Hieroglyphic Being.

Tiger & Woods

If dark techno isn’t your bag Friday night has an alternative dance option that comes in the form of disco house producers Tiger & Woods playing Arkham. The anonymous duo Larry Tiger and David Woods use samples from disco, funk, and house alongside their own production work, which often cleverly resembles hooks from the 70s and 80s. Using a combination of Ableton Live for sampling and sequencing with organic analog gear like the Moog Little Phatty, Dave Smith Mopho, and Roland 101, the Euro team has put out some of the best house tracks of the last five years. If 80s sleaze is your game, then Tiger&Woods are teeing off Friday at Arkham with green fees set at 100rmb. Tiger & Woods - Don't Hesitate

Container

In that other dark dreary basement just a few blocks up called Le Shelter the Stockholm Syndrome kids are hosting a live show featuring the honky tonk techno pioneer Container. His tiny yellow house in West Nashville, USA has more techno gear than then a NASA command center. The world capital of country music is an unlikely space for Ren Schofield a.k.a Container, whom for the past ten years has been making experimental electronic music that is landing on Shanghai’s doorstep this Friday. Schofield’s background is anything but typical in the techno world. Growing up in Rhode Island, his influences are centered around rock bands like Lightning Bolt, Arab on the Rader, Landed, and other post-hardcore outfits. Self-described as having no business being in a dance club unless playing a set, I can tell from his pictures that this guy is a real deal nerd on the buttons and knobs of steel. With a background in drumming, his love of noise music helped turn the Container project into one of the most sought after experimental artists going and I’m very curious to see what comes out of the PA at Shelter. For just a taste check out this Morphine track "Saturated" from last year’s album titled Treatment. Container – Saturated

Charles Cohen

While looking into Container's work I came across fellow Morphine label mate Charles Cohen, best known for mastering the Buchla Music Easel. The device was the main competitor of the Moog modular synthesizers. While the name is not as popular as Moog, the Buchla Electronic Musical Instruments company were credited for simultaneously inventing the modular synthesizer with Moog being based on east coast in North Carolina while Buchla was based in California. I had heard of the band Silver Apples using Buchla gear but looking into the Morphine records vinyl re-issue of Charles Cohen Music for Dance and Theater, a collection of his music from 1976-1987, I was delighted to find some amazing work. He only produced his original soundscape style on the Buchla Music Easel which is so rare that only 25 were made in the 1970’s. Good luck finding that bad boy on Taobao. Without labels like Morphine re-issuing artists like Cohen many of us would never know the work of such important people who literally founded genres like Glitch, Noise, and Drone that thousands of people around the world are active in now. The openly gay experimental musician still plays around today and I hope the Stockholm Syndrome kids consider flying him over. Charles Cohen – "Club Revival"

Hieroglyphic Being

Another painfully inaudible delight that I was pleasantly happy to find on Morphine records is the artist Hieroglyphic Being, a former member of The Dirty Criminals on Deejay Gigolo records. The Chicago producer, whose real name is Jamal Moss, has over 30 albums under his belt and countless singles and remixes that range from Acid House, Techno, Experimental, etc. Most recently Moss made headlines with the cassette mixtape Worst DJ Ever, his response to a recent Manchester warehouse gig where coked up Brits couldn’t handle his experimental flavor and shouted and held up cell phones with "Worst DJ Ever" typed out on the screen. The fun of an artist like Hieroglyphic Being is that while much of the material is not enjoyable to listen to, wading through the hours of noise results in some crazy unique gems that make you feel like the Indiana Jones of beats when you find a good one. Here is a Morphine track "Lost Transmissions" that falls somewhere in the middle of that followed by a solid rework of the Rodelius classic track "Remember." Hieroglyphic Being - The Lost Transmissions Roedelius - Remember (Hieroglyphic Being Version) Well experimental techno isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but luckily this week has something for everyone. There's Japanese scratch DJ Yohei Hibiki, the monthly Rat On gig for the rock contingency, and if faux rock n roll is more your bag then the third annual Inferno Air Guitar Championship has what you need. ***